ABUJA EYES 20 BEST CITIES IN THE WORLD

The drive to position Abuja on the global tourist and investment map informed the actions and policies of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Senator Mohammed Adamu Aliero, aimed at entrenching the territory  as one of the 20 best cities in the world.

Speaking in Abuja, the Secretary of the Social Development Secretariat of the Federal Capital  Territory Authority (FCTA), Senator Bala Adamu,  said  Aliero commenced the rebranding of the territory long before the formal launch of the rebranding project of the Federal Government.

'To be frank and honest with you even before the rebranding project,  Senator Mohammed Adamu Aliero had resumed duty  as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory having been so appointed by Mr President.

“Immediately he assumed duties it was clear he wanted Abuja rebranded. He came with the vision of making Abuja one of the greatest cities in the world. He wants to make  Abuja one of the best 20 capital cities in the world in line with  Mr President's Vision 2020 project”, he said.

Senator Adamu who was in the Senate between 1999 and 2003 and served  as Chairman of the Senate Services Committee under Senator Chuba Okadigbo as Senate Preident, said the efforts made so far by  the minister derived from his track record as a former Governor of Kebbi State and a  senator until his appointment.

“Because of his track record in the administration of Kebbi State where he served as governor, everybody is looking forward with high expectation that he will turn around FCT in that direction. He started the rebranding well ahead of the formal launch of the rebranding Nigeria project”, he said.

On his target as the mandate secretary of the Social Development Seretariat, Adamu said: “my focus is to empower the vulnerable and less privilleged group in the society who are the main constituents  put under our care and responsibility among the residents of this city”.

“The story of this city is incomplete if you just limit it to the provision of infrastructure. You need to touch the lives of the people. People are of different classes. Some are of the opinion that the capital city is made for the elite and the rich but they cannot live alone.

'We have weaker people in the society that are servicing them. We have rural  areas in the FCT administration,' he said. We have our rich traditions and tourist attractions that need to be developed, we need to make the federal capital city one of the centers of sports in this country. All these issues have to be revaitalised and repositioned”, he said.

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